Ben Tate gets running game back on track against Saints

Ben Tate nearly lost a fumble on his second carry against the Saints, but that hardly set the tone for what became a productive afternoon. Matt Schaub handed the ball to him again on the next play and he broke around left end for 39 yards, the key play on a 69-yard drive that he also finished with a one-yard run for a touchdown.

On the day, Tate ran 11 times for 74 yards, averaging 6.7 per carry.

“We just had a big emphasis on the run coming out today,” he said. “We thought we hadn’t run the ball well enough. I felt we definitely had to step up as a unit and we did.”

Of course, Tate knows he’s only a caretaker, that he’s keeping the tailback spot warm for Arian Foster, who only began practicing this week after calf and back issues had sidelined him since OTAs in May. Asked to assess where Foster is, Tate got a little prickly.

Tate also didn’t take too kindly to a question about how the right side of his offensive line is coming along, replying, “Did you see us run today?”

As a team, the Texans finished with 142 rushing yards after gaining 112 against the Dolphins. Tate carried just four times for 12 yards in that game after not playing in the preseason opener at Minnesota.

“I wasn’t really worried about how much I got the ball in the first couple of games,” he said. “With this game I was amped up and pretty ready to go. I’m right where I want to be. I’m excited, ready for the season to get going.”

With Tate in the last year of his contract, left tackle Duane Brown expects a big season from him.

“He was very adamant about running hard (today),” Brown said. “He probably would have wanted to go a little longer. He could have put up a lot of yards. We know how hungry he is. Having him on this team is a great feeling for us. He means a lot for this offense. He has the potential to be a starter in this league.”